Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Fire Chief Seth Lasker say a new partnership with the University of Vermont Medical Center will allow patients to receive better care en route to the hospital.

"For the first time, starting in November, the Burlington Fire Department will offer paramedic services," Weinberger said at a news conference Wednesday in front of the South Winooski Avenue fire station. "As a result of adding this service, the city of Burlington, our firefighters ... will be able to take care of Burlingtonians better."

The goal of the para-medicine program is to send a paramedic on every medical call firefighters respond to, the mayor said. The paramedics would be able to manage pain for patients while they are being transported to the hospital.

Burlington will join Essex, Colchester and South Burlington as Chittenden County fire departments that provide para-medicine services.

The fire department already includes emergency medical technicians among its ranks. Weinberger explained while EMTs are highly trained, paramedics can provide additional care such as administering medicine and fluids. Paramedics need 1,600 hours of training to become certified, compared with 300 hours for advanced EMTs and 120 hours for EMTs.

The program is a product of a new collective bargaining agreement firefighters negotiated with the city, Weinberger said. Councilors approved that labor contract Oct. 14.

Chief Lasker said Wednesday was a proud day for the department after the program took several years to launch. Lasker, who is to retire Oct. 31 after 26 years with the department, said he was glad to leave the para-medicine program as part of his legacy.

"This is going to bring a higher level of service to the citizens of this city," Lasker said.

Lasker said the fire department has five paramedics. The program will train existing firefighters to expand that number to nine, or three per shift. The department has about 80 firefighters.

Michael Sheeser, a physician at UVM Medical Center, said while the hospital is a short drive from any address in the city, paramedics and provide essential pre-inpatient care.

"It's important to recognize most calls aren't four minutes or two minutes," Sheeser said. "Most calls are firefighters dragging people down a third-story walk-up. These things can take a long time."

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Burlington Fire Department.(Photo11: Free Press file)

The doctor said paramedics can improve care for a variety of ailments.

"Imagine you're the person who has a broken femur, or a collapsed lung or kidney stones, and you're 15 minutes away," Sheeser said. "You're going to want a paramedic on that ambulance, taking care of your pain and vomiting, doing the things that can't be serviced by any other provider."

The para-medicine program will cost $15,000 to train firefighters in fiscal year 2016, Weinberger's office said. Fully staffed, the program cost will increase to $28,800 for training annually, or $3,200 per paramedic.

The Weinberger administration plans to present the program to the City Council on Oct. 26.